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Reviews
Minder: A Little Bit of Give and Take (1986)
Shirecliffe College - Sheffield Star.
Chris Routh, who stars as Shaun in this "Made for Schools only " project for drug awareness purposes, was a year above me at Shirecliffe College in Sheffield. I, along with a few College drama students and youth theatre mates went along to the national auditions for this at the Crucicble Theatre. It was the first time that I'd auditioned and Chris was there, we didn't really speak much at college but we knew who each other was. Chris was excellent at the audition and to no surprise was chosen from an astonishing amount of youngsters in the north of England. I finally watched this on youtube a couple of years ago and looking at the reason it was made was very evident, Chris who has been interviewed about this recently has gone on record to say that some of the scenes looked a bit rushed, which is probably the case, anything funded for educational purposes back then and to an extend now, but more so then, had to be completed in an amazing amount of time. However it is still watchable and very purposeful in it's delivery. Perhaps the subject matter is hammered home slightly, but that is a mere quibble as to what was at the time, a very successful series. Chris comes across very relaxed and natural and gives no hint about this being his first TV professional job. He was the talk of the town at the time and it's a shame that this was never broadcast as it was generally made for schools only. It's worth watching for the great Dennis Waterman, George Cole, Glynn Edwards, Elaine Lordan who tell the story of "Shaun" with professional and positive manner connected to their characters. It's also worth watching for all those young hopefuls out there that sometimes it is NOT who you know, it CAN sometimes be WHAT you know, I can vouch for that, Chris was from a very humble and honest background with NO connections in the industry whatsoever, he was picked because he was very focused, professional and positive in his audition and in his portrayal.
The Sum of All Fears (2002)
Come on Harrison do one more.
It is a very good film. It has excellent pace and the atmosphere is also superb. Just one thing. Who's the little turd playing Jack Ryan? Without being too cruel, Ben Affleck gives the role a good shot, but comes off quite bland and wooden. His voice and character aren't purposeful enough, although in the final few scenes he again has a good shot at this but unfortunately falls short. Morgan Freeman; as always, pulls in a dependable performance, although he is slightly wasted as Bill Cabot, but James Cromwell as President Robbie Fowler ( yes that is his name ), is very convincing and conveys his scenes of panic and frustration effectively. Liev Shrieber is excellent as John Clark, the role first played by Willem Dafoe in "CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER", his timing and silent lurking is very chilling and he is an excellent foil for Jack Ryan, whose desk antics, look like they annoy Clark's C.I.A field operations. Good entertainment, tense and atmospheric, it's just a shame Harrison Ford couldn't have done the deed.
Morons from Outer Space (1985)
Under-rated film with subtle message
Yes I did like this film, so what about it? It's well written and better than any Hollywood rubbish crappy comedy about Aliens invading earth, (with the exception of MARS ATTACKS!)the humour is subtley handled by the cast, especially, Jimmy Nail, turning in his best performance as one of the "Moron" aliens, in Auf Wiedersen Pet, I thought he was just irritating and over-rated, but here he almost steals the show. Paul Bown and Joanne Pearce also far well, as the dim-wit and dizzy blonde repectively. James B. Sikking is wonderfully dry in his slightly underused role and Dinsdale Landen has many a good line, with his rolling monotenous, authority, sing-song voice. The two stars; Smith and Jones also do well, especially Mel who wanders around the film looking for someone to believe that he is the fourth alien when, as he describes them; "So-called friends" leave him destitute while they enjoy a life of Fame, Fortune and Luxury. The sequence where he finally bumps into them at the end is quite moving and underplayed, with a subtle message regarding people you either know or who are your "so-called friends". Griff does O.K, but his role is slightly wasted, he appears only to but at the brunt of the joke or pamper to the aliens constant needs. All in all, it really is O.K and the film runs at a good pace, what's wrong with Aliens being out there who are thick, other aliens on their planet (peculiarly named:BLOB)could be highly intelligent but these unfortunately are the ones we meet. Favourite Moment: When told they are played with the chess set, one glance sees them not actually playing the game in the normal way, but having one holding the board and hitting the chess pieces which come their way.
Die Hard (1988)
The 2nd best action film of all time
Yes, I'm afraid it's the 2nd best action film of all time, in my opinion.
The best is "WHERE EAGLES DARE". but "DIE HARD" is not too far behind.
I agree with ever review that I have read on this site. It is a different kind of Action Thriller that other Directors can learn from. The original idea of John McClane being trapped in a huge building miles away from his hometown of New York, without his socks and shoes is a great idea and making him absolutely scared out of his wits is even better. A hero who is scared, doesn't think that he is hard but is, much the opposite of many a boring Hollywood Pic. Die Hard is one of the most original, entertaining, SUBTLE(something Hollywood can't seem to do, but excel here) and tense films ever.
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
Attack of the Yawns.
Yes once again we get an extremely long film, trying to tell the story of where everything began leading up to STAR WARS. It certainly had no heart to it or chemistry was visible between any of the stars, why or why or why do we bother? Reliance on special effects again. TELL THE STORY. Give me the money I will do it better and better acted too. Yes I'm an actor and no I'm not bitter, I'm good and I and a few of my mates, actors and techno guys could have done better. Only Christopher Lee was the best in this.
Stick to Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, (Even) Return of the Jedi. No not because they were "Old Films". Because they had character, heart, humour and good actors.
The Plank (1967)
Good for it's time,gags hammered slightly home.
I've just recently found a copy of "The Plank" I didn't know I had, I watched it and discovered that, yes, as one reviewer as wrote, it was good for it's time. The gags are slightly hammered home a little, but it does have it's place as a british short, describing: What times were like back then, in reality and as a movie industry. Eric Sykes is a clever comic actor whose timing is quite nice to watch, but here Tommy Cooper is more or less wasted. The colour and look of the film, give the impression that it was done by a die-hard Jacques Tati fan. Overall, innocent, good for it's time and (without patronizing) worth a look if your elderly relatives want a giggle if you can't find your Mr Bean Tapes.